AWS Certification FAQs

AWS Certification helps learners build credibility and confidence by validating their cloud expertise with an industry-recognized credential and organizations identify skilled professionals to lead cloud initiatives using AWS.

Test takers who do not pass an exam must wait 14 days before they are eligible to retake the exam. There is no limit on exam attempts until the test taker has passed. For each exam attempt, the full registration price must be paid. Beta exam test takers are eligible for one attempt only.

AWS Certification does not publish a list of all services and/or features that are covered in a certification exam. However, the exam guide for each exam does list the current topic areas and objectives covered in the exam. Exam guides can be found here.

Upon completing your exam, you will receive a pass or fail notification on the testing screen.

Our newer or updated exams use a scale-scoring method. You will receive an email confirming your exam completion. Your detailed exam results will be available within five business days of completing your exam on your AWS Certification Account under Previous Exams. For exams using the original percentage scoring method, you will receive an email after completing your exam, which includes your detailed exam results. Within five business days of completing your exam, your AWS Certification Account will have a transcript of your exam results under Previous Exams.

Beta exam results are typically available 90 days (13 weeks) or less from the close of the beta exam. You will be notified via email once your exam results are available in your AWS Certification Account.

Yes. Canceling or rescheduling within 48 hours of your exam time will result in a USD 60 fee. You will not be able to reschedule or cancel an exam within 24 hours of exam time. With more than 48 hours’ notice, there are no fees to cancel or reschedule your exam.

If you miss your scheduled exam appointment, you will forfeit the exam fee and are not eligible for a refund. You will not be able to register again for the exam until 24 hours after your missed exam time. Missing the exam does not result in a “fail” status.

To verify a certificate, you can ask the certificate holder to share their Validation Number, which can be found on the bottom right of their certificate. Once they have provided you with the Validation Number, you can verify the certification on our website here. You can also verify by clicking an individual’s shared digital badge, which includes a link to help verify certification status.

In addition to validating your technical skills, AWS Certification gives you tangible benefits to help you showcase your achievement and further advance your AWS expertise. View the AWS Certification Benefits page for a complete list of benefits.

In October 2018, we removed pre-requisites to give candidates more flexibility. Candidates are no longer required to have an Associate certification before pursuing Professional certification, and they are no longer required to have Cloud Practitioner or Associate certification before pursuing Specialty certification. We still encourage exam candidates pursue our recommended learning paths as they advance and validate their skills.

AWS Certification enables you to gain recognition for your knowledge and skills in working with AWS services. Additionally, preparing for certification requirements provides an opportunity to expand your expertise working with AWS services.

An exam is a test that validates an individual's technical knowledge of AWS products and services.

A certification is a credential that you earn upon successfully passing an exam. This credential is a digital badge and title that you may use on your business cards and other professional collateral to designate yourself as AWS Certified.

We offer beta exams to ensure a new exam meets our quality bar before full production release. Candidates have the opportunity to take the newest exams first. If the beta is successful, candidates who passed the exam will be among the first to hold the new certification. For more details, view available beta exams on theAWS Certification Beta Exams page.

Yes. Any qualifying US veteran covered under a GI Bill with an education provision can submit a reimbursement request to Veterans Affairs for AWS Certification exams taken after December 10, 2015. To qualify, you must purchase your exam via your AWS Certification Account and submit the VA application for reimbursement.

The VA will only pay for the exam fee. Costs connected with preparing for a certification (e.g., training courses or practice exams) are not reimbursable. Learn more

To preserve the security and value of the certification program, you must accept the terms and conditions of the AWS Certification Program Agreement when registering for your exam appointment and before beginning the certification exam.

The AWS Certification Program Agreement applies to all exams. All content including, without limitation, any questions, answers and/or diagrams of the Amazon Web Services certification exams are the proprietary and confidential property of Amazon Web Services (AWS). They may not be copied, reproduced, modified, published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way without the express written authorization of AWS. Agreeing to the AWS Certification Program Agreement is required to be officially certified and to maintain valid certification.

Yes, practice exams are available for all current Foundational, Associate, and Professional exams. Many of our practice exams are available in multiple languages. View the AWS Certification Preparation page for more details.

You can access a list of the available testing centers in your area with available dates and times during the exam scheduling process. To view a full set of test centers, sign in to aws.trainingand click "Certification" in the top navigation. Next, click “AWS Certification Account,” followed by “Schedule and Manage Exams.” Enter your city or ZIP Code to see a list of available test centers near you.

We continually add new testing centers in the US and internationally. Contact PSIto request a testing center near you.

The Cloud Practitioner exam is 100 USD. Associate-level exams are 150 USD. Professional-level and Specialty exams are 300 USD. You can renew your certification by using your 50% off voucher code to take the current, full exam at 50% off. Please note that taxes (such as Value Added Tax) may apply.

Test takers who do not pass an exam must wait 14 days before they are eligible to retake the exam. There is no limit on exam attempts until the test taker has passed. For each exam attempt, the full registration price must be paid. Beta exam test takers are eligible for one attempt only.

Yes. Canceling or rescheduling within 48 hours of your exam time will result in a USD 60 fee. You will not be able to reschedule or cancel an exam within 24 hours of exam time. With more than 48 hours’ notice, there are no fees to cancel or reschedule your exam.

If you miss your scheduled exam appointment, you will forfeit the exam fee and are not eligible for a refund. You will not be able to register again for the exam until 24 hours after your missed exam time. Missing the exam does not result in a “fail” status.

Before scheduling an exam, you can request a special accommodation from your AWS Certification Account. Sign in to aws.training and click “Certification” in the top navigation. Next, click “AWS Certification Account,” followed by the “Upcoming Exams” tab. Click the “Request Exam Accommodations” button on the right and follow the prompts to select your accommodation.

If your request is based on a medical need, proper documentation (e.g., a doctor’s note) will need to be attached to your request. Once you’ve submitted your request, PSI will review your documentation and contact you to schedule your exam. If you have already scheduled an exam, you will need to cancel your scheduled exam and submit your request by following the steps listed above. Please be aware that canceling your exam within 48 hours of your scheduled time will be subject to our reschedule policy.

AWS Certification passing scores are set by using statistical analysis and are subject to change. AWS does not publish exam passing scores because exam questions and passing scores are updated to reflect changes in test forms as the content is updated.

AWS Certification regularly rotates questions in and out that adhere to the exam guide. Major revisions to an exam, including changes to an exam guide, will be made public. The exam guide for each exam lists the current topic areas covered by the exam. Exam guides can be found here.

A new product, service, or feature must be generally available (GA) for six months prior to it appearing on a certification exam. Note that this applies only to certification exams, not training. Training will cover new services and features more quickly. The AWS Certification team wants to ensure candidates have enough time to work with new services and features before they are assessed against the new material.

AWS Certification does not publish a list of all services and/or features that are covered in a certification exam. However, the exam guide for each exam does list the current topic areas and objectives covered in the exam. Exam guides can be found here.

No. Practice exams are scored based on percent correct. For example, if you answer 16 out of 20 practice exam questions correctly, your score is 16/20 or 80%. Practice exams are useful preparation tools that can help you gauge your readiness for a certification exam. However, passing a practice exam does not guarantee that you will pass the certification exam.

Scores on live certification exams are reported as a score from 100 to 1000. Your score shows how you performed on the examination as a whole and whether or not you passed. Scaled scoring models are used to equate scores across multiple exam forms that may have slightly different difficulty levels. Scaled scores are a mathematical conversion of the number of items that a candidate correctly answers so that there is a consistent scale used across all forms of an exam.

Our newer or updated exams use a scale-scoring method. You will receive an email confirming your exam completion. Your detailed exam results will be available within five business days of completing your exam on your AWS Certification Account under Previous Exams. For exams using the original percentage scoring method, you will receive an email after completing your exam, which includes your detailed exam results. Within five business days of completing your exam, your AWS Certification Account will have a transcript of your exam results under Previous Exams.

Beta exam results are typically available 90 days (13 weeks) or less from the close of the beta exam. You will be notified via email once your exam results are available in your AWS Certification Account.

We removed prerequisites to give candidates more flexibility. Candidates are no longer required to have an Associate-level certification before pursuing Professional-level certification, and they are no longer required to have Foundational or Associate certification before pursuing Specialty certification. We still encourage exam candidates pursue our recommended learning paths as they advance and validate their skills.

In addition to validating your technical skills, AWS Certification gives you tangible benefits to help you showcase your achievement and further advance your AWS expertise. View the AWS Certification Benefits page for a complete list of benefits.

Gain access to exclusive AWS Certified benefits via aws.training. Once signed in, go to your AWS Certification Account where you’ll have access to all your benefits. Benefits will be available within five business days after passing your exam.

To verify a certificate, you can ask the certificate holder to share their Validation Number, which can be found on the bottom right of their certificate. Once they have provided you with the Validation Number, you can verify the certification on our website. You can also verify by clicking an individual’s shared digital badge, which includes a link to help verify certification status.

The AWS Certified store gives AWS Certified individuals the opportunity to purchase AWS Certified merchandise. Access to the AWS Certified Store requires successful completion of one or more AWS Certifications. Access to merchandise is based on the certification you have achieved (e.g., Associate, Professional).